Laid Off at 55, She Built AI Consultancy in 24 Hours

Twenty-four hours after being laid off from her banking job, Kristina Martinelli had already named her new company, created a business framework, and started building an AI sidekick named Raivyn.

The 56-year-old former portfolio manager executive didn't let age or uncertainty stop her. After decades in corporate technology, she channeled her Fortune 500 experience into coaigence, an AI consultancy that helps executives navigate the same technology disrupting their industries.

Martinelli knew she had to master AI tools immediately. She became a prompt engineer first, learning how to communicate with AI systems in ways that produced genuinely useful results instead of robotic responses.

Her breakthrough came from building custom GPTs. She poured her vision, thoughts, and goals into a PDF and uploaded it to ChatGPT, creating Raivyn as her digital business partner. The AI assistant speaks and thinks like Martinelli, helping with everything from organizing color-coded handwritten notes to drafting communications that sound human.

She developed what she calls the 80/20 rule: 80% human-driven work complemented by 20% AI assistance. "The human intellect must never fall by the wayside," she insists.

Her toolkit includes ChatGPT, Claude for organized formatting, Perplexity for research citations, and several others depending on the task. She even uploads photos of her color-coded notebook pages, where red ink means urgent, and Raivyn organizes everything automatically.

Martinelli learned some expensive lessons early. She warns against annual subscriptions to AI tools because the landscape changes so quickly. What's top-rated this month might be third-best next month.

Why This Inspires

Martinelli's story challenges the narrative that older workers get left behind by technology. Instead of seeing AI as the enemy that replaced her value, she made it her competitive advantage. Her decades of institutional knowledge combined with cutting-edge tools created something neither could achieve alone.

She faced the same fear many professionals feel about AI but chose action over paralysis. "We're living in that, and people are fearful of AI, but it's just another tool," she says.

Her advice echoes what she lived: "Most people quit right before they would have turned that corner. They never get to see what's next. Don't be that person."

Starting a business at 55 isn't about having all the answers or perfect timing. For Martinelli, it was about taking the first step while everyone else was still deciding whether to walk.